i went to washington, d.c. as an auditor and prosecutor to solve problems for missouri families and to hold government accountable to taxpayers. i knew it would take a couple of things. it would take hard work. it would take a compromise. first, in remarks. i had no idea the earmarking process was until i got there. lobbyists and campaign donations. i said, i will not play this game. we should do this based on merit and not who you know. i never asked for an earmarked. i went to work with republicans senators such as mccain and other republican colleagues. we banned earmarks. i am proud of that work. congressman akin has requested hundreds of earmarks. he was a proud defender of the year marking process. he said it was a constitutional principle. then there is contracting. as a prosecutor, i looked up of government contracting that was going on and look at what was going on in iraq and afghanistan. once again, working with both parties, we were able to really reform bureaucracies that was wasting your money in